


The Take-down

by ariadne83



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe, Episode Related, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-02
Updated: 2010-02-02
Packaged: 2017-10-06 23:11:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariadne83/pseuds/ariadne83
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They get Ford home, but the fight's not over.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Take-down

By the time Coughlin showed up, McKay was finally awake, but the bitching Lorne expected was eerily absent.

"You OK, Doc?"

McKay nodded once, sharply, and then winced. "Let's just go home, shall we?"

Lorne frowned. "We still haven't heard anything from Colonel Sheppard."

"Right. Of course," McKay said, blinking at him.

Lorne gave him a once-over and noticed a nasty goose-egg forming near McKay's hairline, so he holstered his weapon, drew a penlight out of his tac vest and stepped up close.

McKay leaned back. “What…”

"That's a hell of a knock you took there," Lorne said by way of explanation.

"Hmm?" McKay touched his head and winced again. "Oh.” He grimaced through a quick triage, flinching away from the light when Lorne checked his eyes, and then snapped, "Now what?"

"Now you ditch the suit."

Lorne helped McKay struggle out of the bulky radiation gear while Coughlin stood guard over Ford, and then they got underway. Between the three of them they managed to lug Ford back to the jumper without encountering any more hostiles, but the exertion didn't do McKay any favors. He was looking pretty green by the time they set Ford down. Hopefully it was just a concussion, but McKay’s condition looked bad enough to put him out of action completely. Lorne mentally ran through the checklist for skull fractures, trying to remember what to look out for and what to do – anything to keep himself busy so he wouldn’t let his eyes linger on Ford’s face or drop down beside him and check his breathing again. Coughlin and Reed had a handle on it; if he micromanaged them, they might wonder why.

McKay tripped over his own feet going up the ramp at the back of the jumper, and Lorne had to make a grab for his arm to stop him taking another header. But what was really unsettling was that he still wasn't saying a damn thing, even when Lorne put a hand on the small of his back and steered him to the passenger seat. McKay sank into it and let his head fall back.

Lorne crouched down beside him, trying to assess exactly how screwed they were. "You know, I think you're right. We should head back."

McKay just grunted and closed his eyes. Lorne clapped him on the shoulder, and his eyes flew open again.

"Ow. What was that for?"

"Do me a favor and try to stay awake while we finish loading up, or Beckett'll have my ass."

Lorne stepped into the back to fetch the ice pack from their First Aid kit and shuffled around Coughlin and Reed, trying not to look as they lashed Ford to the bench. He had other priorities right now. He had to.

McKay flinched when Lorne laid the ice against his skin and cracked his head on the back of the seat.

“Whoa, easy there, Doc.”

McKay glared at him, or at least he tried; the effect was somewhat dulled by the fact that one of his eyes was now half-covered. “Ow.”

It was the most normal response he’d made in hours, but Lorne was worried when he made no move to take hold of the ice pack himself. Lorne picked up his hand and pressed it in place, and then stood up. He cut a glance into the back to make sure everything was set – Coughlin and Reed were gone, headed back to rejoin the search, closing the rear hatch behind them – and slid into the pilot's seat, sealing himself and McKay into the forward compartment with a quick command. Then he dialed the Gate and keyed his radio.

"Atlantis, this is Lorne. Jumper One is inbound."

"Major," Weir said crisply. "Tell me you have good news."

"Yes, ma'am. No word yet on the whereabouts of Colonel Sheppard and Teyla, but we have Lieutenant Ford in custody. Requesting a security escort and a med team in the jumper bay."

"Consider it done. Good work, Major."

The flight back was uncomfortably quiet; Lorne kept stealing glances at McKay to make sure he was still upright and breathing, but there was nothing he could do for Ford. They had to keep him isolated from the jumper controls because they had no idea if the ropes would hold once Ford woke up, so he was on his own until they got back to Atlantis. Lorne just hoped he wouldn’t choke on his tongue or something stupid like that, not now that they were on the home stretch.

Two teams of SFs met them in the hanger, leaving Lorne sitting on his ass in the pilot’s seat until they gave him the all-clear. Just to make things really fun, McKay decided now was the time to lose his battle with nausea. Lorne hastily ripped open an MRE and handed him the empty bag just in time and then brought up the HUD so he’d have something to focus on other than McKay retching. By the time his radio buzzed with the all-clear, Lorne was feeling a little green himself. He punched the release on the hatch and threw himself out of his seat, leaving the med team to deal with McKay.

Beckett peppered him with questions when he stopped outside to take a deep breath.

"Did Rodney lose consciousness?"

Lorne swallowed hard and shook his head. "No. Wait; I don't know. He was stunned. Took about a half hour to wake up."

Beckett frowned. "How many times was he hit?"

"Just the once, but he's still kinda out of it. Hit his head pretty hard."

"Right. Thank you, Major." Beckett spun on his heel and hurried after the gurney.

Lorne took a minute to pull himself together and then headed to the Gate room to brief Dr. Weir. If Ford was right, the abductor they were dealing with was human, not Wraith, so at least that was something. They actually stood a good chance of getting everyone out of this alive.  
Just as Lorne stepped out of the transporter the klaxon sounded and the Gate splashed to life.

"Atlantis, this is Sheppard."

Weir broke into a grin. "It's good to hear from you, John."

Lorne jogged down to join her, and he and Sheppard quickly traded status reports. Then it was off to the infirmary to drag Beckett with him into the jumper bay. Beckett was less than enthusiastic about the idea of leaving his new patients so he could "go to an alien planet and perform surgery on an armed man holding Teyla hostage," and he complained about it vociferously the entire flight. Lorne was more than happy to hand him off to Sheppard and stay with the jumper. The colonel took Kerrick and Sherman with him as backup, which made Lorne heave a sigh of relief once they were out of earshot. It couldn't hurt to play it safe for once.

From there, it was a boring wait while Beckett did his thing. Lorne kept himself busy running checks on the flight controls (probably unnecessary, but it was a nervous habit and it was a lot better than letting his mind off the leash right now) until finally, an hour later, his radio crackled to life.

"Major."

"Sir."

"I have an idea."

The plan was pretty simple: use the tracker to lure the Wraith onto the ground and harvest their enzyme sacs. Teyla escorted Beckett back to the Gate and brought back reinforcements, and then they established a perimeter around the clearing just outside the cave. With any luck the interference would limit the Wraith's ability to use their scanners to detect the ambush, the downside being that radios wouldn't work either. Reed and Kerrick were stationed on the ridge to relay information from Coughlin and Sherman at the gate, and Sheppard had taken up his sniper rifle again. Now all they had to do was wait for the suckers to come to them.

Specialist Ronon Dex had insisted on staying, despite the fact that he had fresh stitches in his back. Lorne just hoped the guy wouldn't end up being a liability.

At the signal from Reed, Lorne stepped out of the cave and keyed his radio. "Go ahead."

"Sir, we have an incoming-" Reed cut himself off, and then corrected, "The dart has set down three unfriendlies and is heading back to the Gate."

"Understood."

It took another hour for the Wraith to get to their position, and they moved into the clearing carefully, searching for their prey. Kerrick and Reed tossed down some flashbangs, and the Wraith instinctively drew away from the source - further into the open. Lorne waited for Sheppard to take his shot - one Wraith fell, twitching from a head wound - and then moved out, Dex and Butler following him out one exit as Teyla, Ortiz and Reyes flowed out of the other.

Wraith number two backhanded Lorne and he crashed straight into Butler. They went down in a tangle of limbs, but Dex just leapt over them and shot the creature in the chest. Teyla didn’t mess around with her mark either, and the fight ended fast. Lorne pushed himself up and pulled out his knife to get to work, but Dex grabbed his wrist.

"Why do you want that stuff?" he snapped, gesturing at Reyes, who’d already stuck her blade into Wraith number one. "Sheppard said it makes you sick." Dex glanced at Teyla then, narrowing his eyes when he saw she had her knife out too.

"Detox," Lorne said, unflinching. "We have no idea what'll happen to Lieutenant Ford if he just stops taking it. He could be fine, or his heart could stop." Lorne's stomach lurched at the words coming out of his own mouth, but he pushed the fear down deep. That wasn't going to happen; they'd get the enzyme to Beckett, and Aiden – Ford; damnit, he had to keep his shit together just a little longer – Lieutenant Ford would be fine. Lorne refused to let himself consider anything else.

Dex stared at him, probably searching his face to see if he was lying.

“Beckett’ll know what to do with it,” Lorne added, looking Dex straight in the eye.

Dex cocked his head slightly at that, growled, “Fine,” and then let go and turned away. He sat in tense silence, cleaning his weapons while they dissected Wraith limbs, and shot Sheppard a dark look when he made his way down from the lookout point.

In the end, they were three for three - all the enzyme sacs were full. They weren’t much, but they were a damn sight better than nothing, and Lorne hoped they would make a difference. The team made it off the planet just as the sun was starting to set, made the handover to Dr. Cole, and Kerrick and Reyes 'escorted' Dex to the infirmary to get his wound checked. Everyone else peeled off to hit the showers, but Lorne and Sheppard weren't so lucky; Caldwell was insisting on a debrief, and Weir gave him leeway to call one as a diplomatic gesture. Lorne appreciated that she was still trying to get on Caldwell’s good side, but sometimes her efforts were damn inconvenient.

Not even Beckett escaped the red tape, Caldwell grilling him as soon as he stepped into the conference room.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Beckett said, clearly exasperated. “He’s stable for now, but we’ve no idea what state he’ll be in once withdrawal kicks in; at the very least, the next forty-eight hours will be crucial. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back.”

“Yes, of course. Thank you, Carson,” Weir said, smiling tightly.

Beckett rushed out the door without another word, and Weir turned her attention to Lorne.

"Major, you talked to Lieutenant Ford. What's your take on his condition?"

"Well, ma'am,” Lorne said, trying to keep his voice firm and strictly business-like, “he wasn't thinking straight, but he's definitely still in there. I managed to trick him into setting his weapon down by asking him to help transport McKay."

Weir nodded. "That's good news."

Caldwell scowled. "If you couldn't manage to contain him before, what makes you think you can now?"

"We know what we're dealing with now," Weir replied.

"I still think shipping him to Earth is the only course of action that will ensure the security of this base."

"And you're entitled to your opinion. The Daedalus will be back in a couple of months; we can see where things stand then," Weir said evenly. "But for now, we are the only ones able to offer Lieutenant Ford the medical treatment he needs. This is not up for discussion, Colonel," she added when Caldwell opened his mouth to protest.

"I'll take this up with my superiors," he spat, storming out of the room.

Lorne stared after him in shock. That was not the guy he remembered giving a tour of Area 51's flight program. Sure, taking down the Goa'uld once and for all had stretched them all thin. And maybe Weir and Sheppard just brought out the worst in him, but still; Caldwell was almost unrecognizable. Maybe there was something to the myth of hyperspace madness after all.

"Anything else, Major?" Weir said, breaking through his thoughts.

“Just that the enzyme made him more resistant to stun blasts.” Lorne curled his hands around the edge of the table to keep them from shaking and then added, “And we should bump up training on the Wraith weapons. Half our people are used to zat guns, and if they hesitate to fire a second shot we could end up in big trouble.” His stomach lurched again, and Lorne firmly reminded himself that Aiden was fine, at least for now; Beckett had shown up to answer questions, and there was no way he would ever do that if one of his patients was in serious trouble.

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Sheppard said. “How long do you think it would take to set up an obstacle course on the mainland?”

Weir raised an eyebrow. “I think that can wait until tomorrow, don’t you, gentlemen?”

After a shower and a change of clothes Lorne was still feeling keyed up, so he swung by Sheppard’s office. It was at the end of a short hall, the door almost always open, so Lorne wasn’t surprised to hear carefully restrained voices as soon as the transporter doors opened.  
He hung back for a minute just out of earshot, waiting for a lull, and then strode up and knocked on the door frame.

“Excuse me, sir. Do you have a minute?”

Sheppard’s face was stormy, but he waved Lorne in. Judging by his expression Caldwell had been bitching him out for a while.

“Come on in. We’re just about done here,” Sheppard bit out.

Caldwell scowled. “I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that we can’t afford to let the lieutenant slip through our fingers again.”

Sheppard’s shoulders tensed, and Lorne resisted the urge to flinch. Questioning Sheppard’s authority in front of Elizabeth was a dick move, but it could be shrugged off as an isolated incident. Continuing to harangue the guy in private, in front of a junior officer, was straying way into asshole territory.

Lorne took a moment to be grateful Atlantis hadn’t ended up with Caldwell as CO, and then said, “Actually, sir, that’s why I’m here. I wanted to volunteer to join the security detail.”

Caldwell narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t realize you were so proactive.”

Somehow he managed to make it sound like a shortcoming, and Lorne found himself sweating under the scrutiny. Caldwell couldn’t know… There was no way…

Lorne cut a glance at Sheppard; his lips were pressed tightly, barely visible, and Sheppard’s hands pushed down hard against the desktop, knuckles white dots against his skin as he leaned forward. So Lorne wasn’t the only one reading innuendo into Caldwell’s supposedly-neutral choice of words.

“That won’t be necessary, Major,” Sheppard said tightly, eyes locked on Caldwell. “I’m not putting you on any kind of duty after a mission like that. Sleep for at least six hours. Then we’ll talk.”

Lorne resisted the urge to smack himself upside the head. No wonder Caldwell was suspicious; he’d only gone and volunteered himself for a four-hour shift after being out in the field all day. “Yes, sir.”

Sheppard dismissed him and Lorne spun on his heel, double-timing it back to his quarters despite the ache in his chest. When the door slid shut behind him, Lorne swiped a hand over the lock, slumped back against it and let his head thump back. Fuck. Fuck he was getting sloppy. All he needed now was for gossip to make its way back to Landry, for someone to mention how he’d mentored Aiden at Stargate Command when they both served under General Hammond, and the clusterfuck would be complete. The fact that right now Aiden was officially under “alien influence” wouldn’t cover their asses retrospectively.

Lorne’s knees gave out, and he slid to the floor, pressing a hand to his mouth so he wouldn’t throw up all over his nice, clean BDUs. Lorne wasn’t kidding himself; he’d be in deep shit if their relationship ever came out while he was still in the service. But Aiden… If he was kicked out of the Corps before he got his head together the things that could happen to him didn’t bear thinking about. Lorne shuddered and closed his eyes, deliberately banging his head against the door.

He’d been stupid, acting on impulse, and that had to stop. In a minute. As soon as his legs decided to work again.


End file.
